If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Please note that posts from new users are now moderated. If you have just joined this forum and post a new message it will be held in the moderation queue until a member of staff approves it. Please be patient and our staff will review your submission as soon as possible.

crooked teeth / summer teeth

Hi,
I'm looking for an expression to mean "crooked teeth", like those that need a dental bridge. A person who has all teeth, no cavity, but the teeth are just misaligned.
Could anybody please tell me other expressions than "crooked" and "misaligned"?

Any help appreciated? (I won't use it as a derogatory remark. I just want to describe that there are many such people in Japan, where the situation is different from the US and having croocked teeth doesn't mean they are poor or anything here. And I don't want to repeat "crooked" "misaligned" many times in my explanation, so I need to increase my vocabulary.)

Re: crooked teeth / summer teeth

Originally Posted by pinkie9

Hi,
I'm looking for an expression to mean "crooked teeth", like those that need a dental bridge. A person who has all teeth, no cavity, but the teeth are just misaligned.
Could anybody please tell me other expressions than "crooked" and "misaligned"?

Any help appreciated? (I won't use it as a derogatory remark. I just want to describe that there are many such people in Japan, where the situation is different from the US and having croocked teeth doesn't mean they are poor or anything here. And I don't want to repeat "crooked" "misaligned" many times in my explanation, so I need to increase my vocabulary.)

There are disadvantages to using too many "synonyms" in your article. For example, will the reader understand when you use "misaligned teeth" or "asymmetrical teeth", etc. that you really only mean "crooked teeth", but are using different words only for variation? Or will they wonder what all these distinctions you are making mean?

Another way to avoid repetition is to use phrases such "teeth like this", "such teeth", "this type of dentition", etc. in places where it's obvious that these phrases refer to "crooked teeth".

Re: crooked teeth / summer teeth

Thank you for your reply, Raymott.
Okay, I won't use many synonyms in my explanation.

But I still want to (1) increase my vocabulary and (2) obtain confirmation from a native speaker that "summer teeth" is different from "crooked teeth".
Could anyone help me please?

Given the definition in the Urban Dictionary, which you quoted, yes, "summer teeth" are different.

"Summer teeth" appears to mean that the person has some teeth missing, whether naturally or because they have been extracted by a dentist. They must have fewer than the usual 32 adult teeth and that must be obvious when they smile.

"Crooked teeth" simply means that they are misaligned, not completely straight. A person can have all 32 teeth but they are crooked in their mouth.

I would like to say that until today I had never heard "summer teeth" in my entire life and given its appearance in the dictionary of urban slang, I wouldn't say it's used in everyday speech. I do have to admit that I rather like how it came about though ("The teeth - some are there and some are not" with a pun on "some are" sounding like "summer").

Re: crooked teeth / summer teeth

Originally Posted by emsr2d2

I would like to say that until today I had never heard "summer teeth" in my entire life and given its appearance in the dictionary of urban slang, I wouldn't say it's used in everyday speech. I do have to admit that I rather like how it came about though ("The teeth - some are there and some are not" with a pun on "some are" sounding like "summer").

No, I've never heard of the expression before now.
I too share emsr2d2's like of the provenance of the term. Would summer hair work?
J